I really like crisps, so when I was asked if I'd like to review some the answer was obvious.

There were two reasons I agreed. No.1 I really like crisps and no.2 they're grown and produced in East Anglia (which is home to me).

The crisps in question are Corkers Crisps. Great name and I love the patriotic branding with British icons - the Mini, a London taxi, a cricket bat, a telephone box...

Anyway, I thought I'd do a tasting session with Andy one night, perhaps whilst watching a DVD or several episodes of The West Wing, but with him working silly hours at the moment I had to take the crisps to him.

Whilst waiting for this opportunity I scoffed the Sea Salt, and Sea Salt and Cider Vinegar. But that's just between you and me.


My opportunity came a few days ago when Andy was working in one of the fields nearby. I hopped into his tractor cab and proceeded to fill him with crisps. He didn't seem to mind.

I decided to amuse myself by making it a blind taste test. He was happy to play along, although he did give me a sideways glance when I told him his thoughts would be published on the worldwide web.


First up the Red Leicester and Caramelised Onion. His guess - sour cream and cheese, which I thought was a pretty good guess. I liked these ones especially, but then this is the sort of flavour I prefer. They're not your average cheese and onion, they taste more authentic, perhaps less processed or more naturally flavoured, I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe I need another bag to be sure ;)


We agreed that they had a good crunch to them, I'd been promised this in the PR info and wasn't disappointed. They're not called 'crisps' for nothing. Apparently the crunch comes from the potato being grown in peaty fenlands - so well done the peaty fields of Cambridgeshire.

After that we tried the Sea Salt and Cracked Black Pepper. He said 'lots of pepper and something'. These did have a strong pepper flavour, especially as an after taste, the salt was a little lost but we both liked it.


Then we tried Sweet Thai Chilli. 'A chilli something' he said. These were a lovely colour and I think he knew they would be chilli before he even tried it.


Next up Gressingham Duck and Hoisin Sauce. He pondered over this for a while, he knew the flavour but couldn't put his finger on what it was. In the end he guessed at prawn crackers, knowing that it wasn't right. As soon as I told him, he could put the two together, and declared these his favourite.

And finally we tried Pork Sausage and English Mustard. "I want to say turnip, but I might not know what a turnip tastes like. It's an earthy root vegetable anyway" he said. I liked these, I thought the mustard flavour came through first and then gave way to the meaty taste but Andy couldn't taste either. Interestingly he likes mustard and eats loads of it and I'm not a fan and yet I could taste it and he couldn't.

I should point out that he has rather odd taste buds, according to Andy a digestive biscuit spread with tartar sauce is a taste sensation.

Yeah, he's a wrong'un.

As for the ones I tried at home - Sea Salt, and Sea Salt and Cider Vinegar - both were really tasty, the crisps seem slightly thicker and more robust than other brands. The Sea Salt and Cider Vinegar had a lovely tang to the after taste, and the perfect amount of sharpness. I can see why they have recently won Potato Grower of the Year by UK Growers and been named Best Regional Supplier by Waitrose (they also have a host of Great Taste Awards).


Most recently they've launched vegetable crisps, I kept these to myself as Andy isn't a fan and these are really tasty too. The bag disappeared far too quickly and I could've easily eaten another pack... or several.

So, would I buy them again? Yes. Especially the Gressingham Duck (that are reared on the farm) and Hoisin Sauce, and the vegetable crisps.

They're available from National Trust properties, the Tate, selected Waitrose stores and also Waitrose.com

Have you tried Corkers Crisps?

///

Thank you to Corkers Crisps for sending me these tasty treats. All opinions, my crisp obsession and oddly taste-budded husband are entirely my own. 

///

(Day 32 of blogging everyday for 40 days)

After my last birthday I wrote a list of all the things I wanted to achieve by my next birthday, among them was the need to create calm and improve my surroundings.

I knew that when I said 'create calm' I meant continuing the de-cluttering I'd started. I saw this as an on-going project, I thought I'd tackle one room at a time, do a little everyday, improving things bit by bit.

I mentioned this book in yesterday's post but when I heard about the KonMari bandwagon I jumped right on it. I purchased The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying: A simple, effective way to banish clutter forever by Marie Kondo and I read it within three days.

Her method is to tackle things in a certain order and to do it all at once, to avoid rebound (clutter building up again).

But before you can start the process of discarding Kondo explains that you need to identify why you want to tidy, and imagine the lifestyle you want to lead, and then to examine the reasons by asking 'why?' three or four more times.

I asked myself these questions and wrote down the first thing that came into my mind, my gut reaction. I was surprised by what I discovered, I hadn't realised I was feeling this way.

What do you hope to gain through tidying?

A tidier home (obviously) which is calmer and easy to look after.

Visualise the ideal lifestyle you dream of.

Calm, organised, free - the house is warm, clean, tidy, welcoming.

What do you mean by calm, organised and free?

Calm is uncluttered, which is a feeling as much as a state of tidiness. Organised, so everything has a home, nothing in boxes, or in random piles. And free from thoughts like 'I really must get round to doing X' or 'I really should sort out Y'. To be free of the feeling that I'm constantly tidying up and getting nowhere.

It would be nice to welcome people into our home without apologising for the mess / half finished decorating / unpacked boxes.

Why are these things important?

I feel like I'm constantly chasing my tail, nothing stays tidy for long. I'm increasingly frustrated that we've been living here for over four years and I'm still sorting things out. I feel like I should've had this sorted ages ago.

Why is it important to have these things sorted?

I don't feel like we're as far forward as we could be. We've stalled on home improvements, grinding to an almost complete halt. Having less clutter will make it easier to move forward, to make the changes we want to make. Instead of spending my time tidying, I can focus on housework, DIY and finding furniture. We can move onto the next stage of our lives.

I have always done things at my own pace, long after my peers, and it's never bothered me at all. This is the first time that I've felt ill at ease with the fact I feel I'm lagging behind. Not that anyone is judging me (that I know of) for not having painted the woodwork in the hallway yet, or unpacked some boxes, but I am. It's really bugging me.

This is why I want to tidy.

Part of the book explains that once the clutter is cleared you can see your life more clearly, some of it sounds far fetched and verges on ridiculous (talk to your house, thank your belongings) but I have to say, I was surprised by my answers to the questions. I knew I wanted to create calm but hadn't questioned why. Knowing gives the process purpose. This is a very positive feeling.

I'll keep you posted.

Have you read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying by Marie Kondo?

(Day 31 of blogging everyday for 40 days)

I set a timer on my phone when I take part in A Photo An Hour, otherwise I'd miss so many shots throughout the day. It makes me feel a little bit like Huge Grant's character in About A Boy - dividing my day into units of time. Normally the time just ticks by and I'm oblivious.

6.20am
Andy had just left for work and I snuggled down for another hour in bed with my current read and my boy cat Socks.
7.20am
My first cuppa of the day, it's standing here, while the kettles boils, that I start to formulate a plan for my day.

08.20
I finished reading The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying: A simple, effective way to banish clutter forever by Marie Kondo the previous evening and today I started to tidy. I think I'll write a post on the book so I won't go into detail now, let's just say I was keen to get started. These shoes had just had their chance to 'spark joy' (I'll explain another day), they failed and so will be going to the local charity shop soon. In no time at all I'd filled five bin bags with clothes.

09.20
Ready to start the next phase of my tidying - books. Fuelled with another cuppa I first had to move all the junk out of the way so I could actually get to the shelves. My office is more of a dumping ground than an office.

10.20
Hanging out he washing I  realised what a gorgeous day it was and an alternative plan started to form...

11.20
My chosen books back on the shelves. I had all the fun arranging them. They used to be in colour order but now I have reference books, books I've read and want to keep, unread books, and notebooks. I've given myself a deadline of my next birthday to read all of  my unread books, any left will be given away. Some of these books have been on the shelf for years.



13.20
Back at home with the car unloaded, I found this little guy sitting in a sun spot in the greenhouse. I tried to grow strawberries in there but the cats both decided it made a rather comfortable bed. And that was the end of the strawberries.

14.20
I don't know why I thought digging the flower beds would be a good idea in the midday sun, it was exhausting. We have very clay soil here so I had to dig some out and replace it with compost. It hadn't been dug over in years and the soil was so compacted it was hard going, it didn't help that I found a defunct piece of pipe that I had to dig out too. It was about 12ft long! Needless-to-say I took plenty of tea breaks.

15.20
I heard a weird rustling from the back of the greenhouse and thinking that it was a trapped bird I went to investigate, but it was just Socks hidden up behind the BBQ stretching on the creaky old shelving.

16.20
Plants in. The next day I put down some weed suppressant and bark chippings. I just hope they thrive. We're very open here and the wind whips across the fields and the garden gets a good battering. Not everything I've planted here has made it.

17.20
Back into my office with the intention of selling some of my unwanted books to Amazon, which I discovered they don't do anymore. True to form as soon as I sat down Tinker was in my face wanting some fuss. I'd get a lot more work done if I didn't have cats.

18.20
Back out in the garden enjoying the last of the days sunshine.

19.20
With the sun going down I went to join my husband for the evening. He was working in a field not far from home so I went along to keep him company. The small light is Andy (far away), the big light is his Dad (nearer).

20.20
Still hanging out with the husband. I missed Dr Who and Strictly but it was worth it.

21.20
It's not easy to take interesting photo an hour pictures when you're sat in the dark, not moving from your seat. And with the motion of the tractor you're not going to get anything other than a blurred shot!

22.20
Back at home. I went inside to feed the cats while Andy refueled ready for the morning. I dropped straight into bed and was asleep in minutes.


Thanks to Jane and Louisa for organising Photo An Hour again this month.

(Day 30 of blogging everyday for 40 days)

Today this here little ole blog is five years old, and what better way to celebrate a blogiversary than with the blog cliche that is the foil balloon?

Everyone loves a balloon.

I'm enjoying blogging more than ever at the moment. Which could have something to do with posting daily and investing a lot of time into it. I love writing, I enjoy putting posts together and although the subject matter of my blog has shifted over the years I think it's lovely to have something to look back on.

I have failed time and time again to write a daily diary, so this has become my way of recording what's on my mind and what goes on in my life. Although looking back at some posts makes me cringe, I wouldn't delete a single one of them.

Huge thanks for dropping by, commenting, and sharing the journey with me.

I've recently seen a lot of bloggers questioning why they blog, and even considering hitting delete and find that so sad. Blogging takes time and effort, why waste it?

I saw a tweet that said they didn't feel their blog was 'niche enough', who the hell cares? It's your blog, enjoy it, it doesn't have to conform to anyone's idea of what a blog should be.

YOU decide.

If you're bored, take a break, if you want to take it in a different direction, do so.

There are only three rules I think need to apply to blogging and they are - be honest, be kind, and most importantly, enjoy it!

I touched on some of my favourite tweets from September recently but the one that had me nodding in agreement like a demented nodding thing was this tweet from Sophie -

'After four and a half years of blogging its still such a joy to put together each post. That's the luxury of only sharing what I LOVE <3'.

Can I get a 'hallelujah'!

(Day 29 of blogging everyday for 40 days)

The photobook of our honeymoon arrived yesterday and I'm really pleased with it! I wanted to get our photos printed so that we had physical copies and a photobook seemed the perfect solution. You can't snuggle up on the sofa and leaf through the pages of a computer can you?

I used Photobox to put it together and the whole process was really easy. I took advantage of one of their offer codes and saved 60% (if memory serves), since I registered I often receive emails with more offers so if you are looking to make one, it's worth holding out for a good deal. I chose an A4 Classic Collage photobook so that I could have a little display of photos on the front.

To keep it simple (for me) I uploaded the photos a day at a time and created a number of spreads for each day, before uploading the photos from the next day. I couldn't have two days on one spread - oh hell no! (but maybe that's just me?).

I could switch around the layout, change the size of the picture frames, and move images around with ease. It took a little while to get my head around how it worked but it's very user friendly and the whole thing only took me a few hours.

I was able to save the book as I went along, I could've gone back to it and finished it off another day if I'd wanted to. This would be a great way to document an on-going project or make a year book (which I have to say I really like the idea of).


The only one little niggle is that I had to pay (£5 something) not to have their logo printed on the last page of the book, which I think it a bit cheeky. If I'm advertising their brand they should be paying me!

That said, the book arrived in good time, I was updated via email throughout the whole process and it arrived in good condition. It's good quality and I love it. It's the perfect keepsake of your honeymoon.


Now I just have to set to work on a book for our wedding, which is going to be hard as we have so many lovely photos, I want to include them all, even though some of them are almost identical.

Do you get your photos printed or are they all stored digitally?

(Day 28 of blogging everyday for 40 days)

The immediate and fleeting nature of Twitter means I often favourite a tweet with the intention of going back to it and then I simply forget all about it. There is a wealth of interesting information, which unless acted upon, can get lost in the among the banal, silly, and sometimes pointless twittering.

Don't get me wrong the banal and pointless tweets are among my favourites. I'm not a person that takes twitter seriously, I don't use it to be educated. It's a form of light entertainment, a way to connect with others over shared nonsense and musings on daily life.

I love this quote from Stephen Fry "The clue’s in the name of the service: Twitter." The full post entitled 'Pointless babble' is here, from his blog in 2009. He's a wise ole fellow.

That said, I do like to sometimes make use of the not so babblish tweets I've favourited. In September I've already favourited 37 tweets. I think you can tell a lot about my current state of mind by what appears on this list.

One tweet led me to this recipe, Tuscan style sausage bake, it sounds lovely, looks easy to prepare and is one the menu for the Sunday.


I favourited another thinking an item featured would make a lovely gift for a friend (image from ohhdeer.com).

Thanks to my recent dabble with food supplements this tweet from @SR_Nutrition piqued my interest - Myths and Facts About Vitamin C. Finding advice on what works and what doesn't among the marketing hype is something I always struggle with. It seems we're surrounded by food myths, and this frustrates the hell out of me. Who do we believe?


I favourited this tweet and have still yet to go back and peruse the pie recipes that I'll probably never cook, but I love the idea of a hot steaming pie on a cold Sunday evening, with creamy mash and veg. And gravy. Lots of gravy.

A tweet from @rosalilium touches on a subject that I've seen a lot recently - setting the tone of your day with your morning routine. Interesting stuff.



@ReallyRee piqued my interest with a review of the Collection Contour Kit, Ree has introduced me to some great products in the past and I've seen this reviewed by a few other bloggers too - all of whom like it. I think I'll be picking this up next time I'm in town, because, yep, I need another bronzer...

Gin cocktails? Cheers! @RedMagDaily. And again for whetting my appetite for the cinema with this list of films to see this autumn.

To share some of the Twitter babble I enjoy so much, here's a tweet from @52Betty


And the last one I'll mention @QuiltingMuriel. At 97 she's a prolific tweeter, regularly making me laugh. Follow her, she's every shade of awesome.

(Day 27 of Blogging everyday for 40 days)

Yesterday I posted my Summer '15 list, so it stands to reason that today I'd follow with my Autumn '15 list. I started these seasonal lists in the autumn last year, so I'm going to add some of the things I didn't do last year, with the intention of not failing so miserably again.

1. Forage for sloes and make some gin
I did this last year and the result still sits in the cupboard waiting to be enjoyed, you can drink it after three months but I was told it's much better if you wait a year. I can't wait to try it, but I'm saving it for the festive season. This autumn I'll be preparing another batch for next year.

And, going off topic for a moment, in the summer I'm going to make elderflower gin (just popping the link here so I don't forget!).

2. Go to the beach
I didn't go in Autumn last year, the plan was to wrap up warm and eat hot salty, vinegary chips. But I will go. And yes, I did this a few days ago but strolling along the beach with hardly a soul to be seen was wonderful. I started from one end of the promenade and ended at the other with some salty chips and a mug of hot sweet tea. Sitting there on a slightly grubby bench, I started reading a book I'd just picked up for a quid in a charity shop - Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham. I enjoyed the bracing sea air, the sound of the waves, the solitude, and the chips. Things like this should be repeated ad infinitum.

3. Watch Hamlet
National Theatre Live at my local cinema. Two words - Benedict Cumberbatch. Thursday October 15th. Must. Not. Forget.

4. Carve a pumpkin or two
Hopefully I'll have better luck than in 2013, when I slipped with the knife whilst carving the face and cut my finger.

5. Watch a creepy film on Halloween
This is another one I failed to do last year. Queue some Propercorn (fiery worcester sauce & sun-dried tomato for Andy, sweet & salty for me) and a blanket to hide behind.

6. Bake!
Last year was the year of apple crumble, if I can find some blackberries this year I'll add them into the mix. But I'd like to try baking a Bakewell Tart (let's hope I can bake it well) (sorry not sorry), it's one of my favourites, so if you have any good recipes - point me in their direction! In the meantime I'll be trying these bakewell cupcakes.

7. Wear my scarves.
I banned myself from buying any scarves this year and so far I've managed it (if you don't include a snood (which I don't) purchased in February). I'm certain that the autumn and winter months are going to prove be the hardest to stick to my ban, so I'm going to set myself a mini challenge to wear all the scarves I own this season.

8. Read 3 books
I love reading, but sometimes I simply forget to. Adding this to my lists helps to keep me picking up my book. I have so many to read! *hides three more purchased yesterday under desk*.

9. See the new 007 film Spectre
My Dad is always a willing companion.

10. Make stew and dumplings
Andy has never eaten a dumpling. Can you imagine?

One thing I won't be doing this autumn - buying a pumpkin spiced flavour anything *pulls yucky face*

(Day 26 of blogging everyday for 40 days)

1. Go to the beach and eat ice cream (more than once)

OK, so I managed just two trips but they were lovely (and so was the ice cream). The first time I went it was a gorgeous morning, I went a little pink in the sunshine but by the time I'd returned home the heavens had opened.


My second visit was on a cooler day, the sun was a hazy blob behind the clouds, I decided to eat hot salty chips and drink scolding hot, sweet tea instead of having an ice cream. There was barely soul to be seen, it was bliss.

2. Exercise!

Ha! hahahahaha. Ah hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

OK, so I've started going to a clubbercise class (dark room, easy dance steps, disco lights and glow sticks), and a Pilates class once a week. I'm not going to jinx it by saying I'll be going every week but it does feel good to be doing something again.


3. Make a wedding album and get a few photos printed and into frames

I haven't done the album yet as I'm waiting on some photos to find their way to me from various relatives, but I have had a few printed and put into frames.


4. Make a dress or skirt (or maybe both!)

I was really after a pattern for a dress like the one above, so I could make a floral ditsy print version, but I didn't find anything even close. I'll keep looking though (any suggestions of places to buy patterns online would be greatly appreciated). That said, it's so simple I might be able to create my own pattern to work from...

5. Finish my patchwork quilt

I have made progress over the summer but it's no where near finished yet...

6. Start (and finish?) a cross stitch I've had sat in my drawer since 2013

I've made a start.

7. Redecorate our bedroom (after the kitchen)

The bedroom is untouched. The kitchen is scheduled for October. I've roped in my Mum and her husband to help and they suggested this as a 'nice month for DIY'. Who am I to argue?

I was going to paint my bedroom walls grey but I'm over it. Question is what colour do I go for instead?

8. Pick strawberries / raspberries and eat my body weight whilst still in the field
 
I missed the strawberry season entirely, with the honeymoon and a busy work schedule I just didn't get round to it. I'll go next year though, definitely.


I did make it in time for the raspberries. I popped up to Alder Carr Farm and spent a good half hour wandering around in the sunshine, picking (and eating) sun warmed raspberries.

At home I popped some on my Bircher breakfast, and the rest of them on the last of my homemade ice cream, which triggered the idea to make my second batch raspberry flavoured.


9. Make my own ice cream.

Yes! I started with a classic vanilla recipe from Mary Berry, and then added raspberries, but now I'm pondering some different flavours. Strawberry and lavender for example. Rhubarb maybe? Elderflower?

10. Try a new recipe.

The ice cream recipe was new to me...

I can't believe it's nearly Autumn again already. What have you got planned?

(Day 25 of blogging everyday for 40 days)

So there I was sitting on the sofa, watching The Big Bang Theory, I'd finished a large glass of wine and the adverts came on.

The bald chap that used to play rugby and now captains on A Question of Sport popped onto my screen and told me about this fantastic new powder - Bioglan Super Foods Supergreens. What he actually said is a bit of a haze but he was obviously convincing, because I got out my phone and added a tub of it to my online grocery order.

In the cold light of day, no longer under the influence of said large glass of wine, I wondered what on earth had possessed me to spend £9.99 on 70g of green powder!

Anyway it was too late to change my order, I'd bought it and so I thought I might as well find out what it actually was.

The powder itself seems too good to be true, with 81 vital ingredients it claims to have more than your 5-a-day per serving. Reviews on the Holland and Barrett website seem to rave about how energised people feel, how lovely their skin looks, and, erm, how 'regular' they are.

It suggests adding 10g (two teaspoons) to water or milk or smoothies. 10g, that's only seven servings from my 70g pot. That means my pot will last seven days. Seven days for £9.99. That's £1.43 per day.

After watching Eat Well For Less? for the first time recently, I've become obsessed with working out how much food costs over a year. To have a serving of this everyday would work out at £519.48. Yikes!

I am rubbish at eating my 5-a-day, so something as simple as adding two teaspoons of powder to water, and getting them all in one hit, seems very tempting.

But £519.48.

Never-the-less I decided to give it a go. I'd purchased a tub, I might as well see if it's all it's cracked up to be. I wondered if I'd feel any of the health benefits after one week?


I was disappointed to find that the tub is less than half full. It does state that it's 70g on the tub and that's what I got, but when you get a tub this size you do expect it to be almost full. I imagine that they made the tub larger than actually needed so the perceived value would be greater.

It smelled nice, sort of tropical and a little chocolaty. So far so good (if you ignore the meager amount).

I carefully measured out two teaspoons (I didn't want to waste a grain of it at that price) and added water, I stirred vigorously but it still looked grainy. The advert made it look clear and a beautiful emerald green, in reality it looked sludgy.

It was grainy to drink, you know how sometimes the last mouthful of a hot chocolate can be when you've added 'just one more' heaped spoonful of powder to your cup? it was just like that. It was tasty though, sort of fruity but I also got a chocolaty hit (although I could've just been smelling the chocolate 'taste').

It was nice. Sadly there was no Popeye-eats-spinach-reaction (disappointing), but I did feel ever so slightly smug at cheating my way to my 5-a-day, and then I immediately doubted that it would do me any good at all.

Never-the-less the next day I added the powder over two glasses of water, but they were still grainy to the point of making me cough a little and needing a drink of water to clear my throat.


The day after I added it to yogurt (or Alpro Simply Plain, which is a pretend yogurt) and it was really rather tasty.

On day four though I admitted to myself that I'd been duped. If something seems to good to be true, it probably is.

I tweeted @SR_Nutrition asking if it would have any real health benefits and they said - "I imagine not. It may provide a chunk of vitamins etc but REAL food works synergistically to enhance absorption & health. Sorry @HazelxJoy"

I stirred it into my yogurt anyway - it's tasty after all - and I then disappeared down a Google rabbit hole trying to find an answer on food supplements in general. Don't even get me started, there is so much conflicting information out there I wouldn't known were to begin.

If I've learned anything it's this - beware online shopping when under the influence of alcohol.

I'll save my money and eat more fruit.

(Day 24 of blogging everyday for 40 days)